Aura

by Abraham, M. A.

  He caressed her breasts with his lips, licking at them, drawing the passion swelled tips into his mouth to suckle them as he moved his hands down to her legs to part them. He stroked the nub between her thighs, with slow tantalizing movements, feeling her arousal in the swelling of her feminine parts, the wetness of her welcome and hearing the raspy sobs that came from her.

  "I loved your present the day of our return, it quite took my breath away," he continued to tease her in his husky voice as he moved over her to kiss her again.

  She met his kiss with one of her own and moaned as they joined. Her legs moved about his hips as he thrust into her and she arched towards him.

  "Oh yes Thorn," she breathed into his ear, as they clung to one another, their bodies merging in an age old dance as he slid in and out of her, each seeking then finding their release within and about the other.

  Neither retained enough strength after their bout of lovemaking to even withdraw from the other and they remained joined until their breathing returned to normal and he found the strength to move from her. Thorn held on to her, pulling her closer and sighed in deep satisfaction as he cushioned her body against his.

  Aura smiled, contented and sated by the act they had just shared and purred. "And so what do you think now?"

  "Now?" Thorn asked, bewildered by a question that could mean anything.

  Aura laughed and added. "Yes, now. Now that you have everything a man could want of his mate and love. What do you think now?"

  "I think you are trying to tell me something, but, at the same time, you are waiting for me to guess what it is."

  "Perhaps," Aura teased, giving him a smug evasive smile.

  "I can think of only one thing that would make you so happy and pleased with yourself at the same time. Aura, do you carry my child?"

  Aura nodded and laughed in glee as Thorn crushed her to himself, kissing her long and hard as he did.

  "How long have you known?" Thorn asked as he raised his head from hers.

  "Not long," Aura admitted. "I suspected, but was afraid it might not be true, but it is, I know it is."

  "What now?" Thorn asked.

  "Now I feel totally free to live out my life with you, without being afraid of losing you again. Thorn do you have any idea how hard I have prayed that I might be given this gift?" Aura blurted out.

  "Probably as hard as I prayed I might find you in the first place." Thorn answered as he kissed her again then asked. "Should we tell the others, or should we wait?"

  "Let them wait. I think I would like this kept between us for a little while. Let us cherish the moment on our own."

  They were quiet, as they lay embraced, lost in their own thoughts, until he broke the silence.

  "So what do you think now, now that you feel truly safe and fully protected."

  Aura smiled as she answered. "I wonder if our son will grow up to be as dark as his father, with shoulders as wide and his body as hard. I wonder if he will be loved by the woman he chooses."

  Thorn laughed, pleased with her answer and countered. "I wonder if our daughter’s eyes will be as bright as her mother's, reminding me of the sky in the setting sun. I wonder if she will sing songs to the children in the village with a voice as clear and light as a lark."

  Aura sighed, but said nothing. She was content to wait and find out, for now she was certain of her future. She would stand at the side of the man she loved, and together they would raise their family.

  CHAPTER XXXVI

  Aura and Thorn stood together at the window as they watched their three sons joke with each other and torment their sister. They teased her that they had found her a husband, while she argued back that she was too young to marry. The boys, barely men themselves, razzed her in their fondness and told her that at fourteen she should have little thought of anything other than marriage. The girl soon realized that they only were teasing her and she smiled at them as if she knew something that they didn’t. Aura smiled, she was so very young, so very full of spirit. Thorn had turned down many offers for the hand of his only daughter. He wasn’t ready to part with her yet.

  The young girl knew what her parents thought of her, Aura and Thorn hadn’t kept their pride or love secret. She had lived a life surrounded by the love of her family, as had her brothers. Thorn had trained his boys well, as he knew they would need his skills in life to survive. Aura taught each of their children what she thought they could use of her skills. Their daughter was best at following in her mother’s footsteps. She had learned well the art of making medicine and healing those in need, both on the battlefield and off. All of the children knew how to read and write as well as do mathematical equations.

  Thorn felt as if his life had been blessed. He had a wife and family he loved with all his heart and soul and he was happy. Life had been good to him when he had been granted his heart’s desire, Aura. He couldn’t have asked for a better wife, and he knew she loved him every bit as much as he did her. It hadn’t been an easy life, war and living conditions kept them busy surviving, but there had also been happy times when friends and family would meet in celebration. He could see that the future would be better for his children and he felt he had Aura to thank for that, as she had brought knowledge and light into their home.

  The twins, Sillgrim and Signi’s only children, came into view, riding hard across the fields to join their cousins. Compared to Thorn and Aura’s children they often seemed wilder than their cousins. There were several differences as where their children had dark hair, Signi and Sillgrim’s flaxen haired boys shone like the light. Thorn and Aura remembered how the young men had fought at their father’s side during a battle not too far from their homes. The cousins had fought as a unit, and they had done well. After the battle had been won Aura had told Thorn that on the field there had been little difference between their sons and their cousins. It had been a battle that had proved them ready to defend their King and country, and they were all ready to ride off at moment’s notice.

  Their readiness to ride off to war did not sit well with Aura, but there was nothing she could do about it. These were the times she had chosen to live in, nor had she regretted her decision. She sighed as she leaned back against Thorn’s solid body and he wrapped his arms around her shoulders as he rested his head against the top of her head. She felt loved, secure and happy. He dropped a kiss against the side of her head and leaned to murmur into her ear.

  “I want you to know that if I had to do it over again, I wouldn’t change a thing. I love you Aura.”

  Aura smiled and reached up to give him a kiss in return. “I love you too, Thorn. But would you really want to live through the winter of my absence?”

  Thorn thought about that for a moment, then replied philosophically. “It is the things we lose, then have to fight to retrieve that we seem to value the most. I find you the most valuable possession I have.”

  “Possession, Thorn?” Aura asked.

  “As you possess my heart, I possess yours. We belong.” Thorn replied confidently.

  Aura smiled. She was at peace with the declaration. It was true. They did belong to each other. They had been granted a precious gift in their lives. Impossible as it seemed they had come together in a time where they should never have met. They had lived, loved, and spent their lives in a time hundreds of years before she had been born, and they had found happiness in doing so. This, she decided, was what life was supposed to be like.

  THE END